Did you sit in coach the whole way?
Right there too. Visiting one this SaturdayâŠ.
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Roll Tide Roll.
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Interesting. Well known international investment company that I work for doesnât do this for any candidates with experience. First year hires we look at GPA and occasionally test scores. After the first internship (return offers) or first hire, we never make hiring decisions based on these things. There are background checks.
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Can you get on I95 and head to Baltimore? There are often direct flights from Baltimore that are less expensive or better routes than we have found from Philly. Not sure how much longer that makes your drive but that is how we found many more options to get our child back and forth from a southern flagship.
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Crazy update!
After track meet, S just got an email from Baylor to check the portal. They gave him another $5000/year merit scholarship! So he is up to half the cost of attendance (tuition at guaranteed set rate for four years, room, board, books, fees) in merit now!
Itâs totally unexpected because we already paid that enrollment deposit even though it isnât 100% a done deal, but it isnât as if they know that and so need to try to persuade him to come. I suspect he is leaning that way and though I am still rooting for the LAC, it is easier to support either choice the more money Baylor offers him!
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The Pitt campus and the city of Pittsburgh are both fantastic. The Medical Center is A+. Comparing Pitt to Alabama is apples to oranges. And Iâve been to both schools. If one is in search of an urban campus, look no further than Pitt. Also, the WSJ ranked Pitt the #2 public university in the Northeast, #1 was the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. A friend of my son is a sophomore nursing major @ Pitt. Her internship this summer is at Brigham and Womenâs Hospital in Boston. Iâd say Pitt is well known.
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sorry for the novelâŠ
He wore a Syracuse sweatshirt to his girlfriendâs house last night and a different Cuse sweatshirt to school today. He asked that I not announce it on social media until he told a few people first and said I could not mention his scholarship award on my personal account (I wouldnât do that as I do have several parents of his peers on there). He has always been a more private person.
Decision wise he had a hard time giving up the sun and sand of Jacksonville. He said it seemed easier to double major at JU as well. But he also admits he likes to be challenged and maybe âtoo easyâ is not the right choice for him either.
He went to the full-day admitted studentsâ Spring Reception (9 am to 3 pm) at Cuse. Totally decked out with school spirit which we expected. Started out with the ladiesâ acapella group performance and pep band set. I felt like school spirit was not focused on sports per se but overall finding your own community. Admit stats given were that about 42k applications for 3700 freshman spots for Cuse overall. In VPA college, about 500 apps for 45 spots.
Students are then broken up into schools for a more personalized tour. Within VPA (visual and performing arts) they broke it down even further. We were in Setnor (music) and only 4 families. It was nice as it allowed for more specific questions and a focused review of the curriculum for each of the different majors in the group. I left that session feeling like he would be very supported with class selection and such. Music is in Crouse which is the Hogwarts looking building at the top of the hill often photographed for Cuse media. He promptly said it was more historic than dated (he doesnât like dated). Practice rooms were basic but fine, all with Steinway pianos. There was a nice electronic music room with a cool computer set up. Sound and recording arts majors were allowed to go to their main recording studios in another building. Music industry and the like are highly respected programs.
My son commented that all the people he heard practicing sounded really talented which he liked. Had a professor or two see kids on the tour and introduced and welcomed them. The groups of kids seen in the building looked happy and chill. He was able to meet again privately with his likely voice lesson instructor (they did a zoom meeting before) and he left feeling positive. University Singers were practicing, and he was really impressed. Their main performance space is very historic and antique looking, but this did not seem to bother him, and I caught him videoing the space. He liked that there was study abroad performance opportunities.
We did not get to see any dorms or general dining rooms. Dorms do not have air conditioning. They have upgraded to pod bathrooms (multiple private toilet/sink/shower units). Some of the dorms have a tunnel connecting to dining halls so students donât have to walk outside in winter.
Lunch was provided in the dome and kids names were put up on the scoreboard which was kinda cool. Food was chicken tenders and sides (GF and vegan options available). We did the campus tour and our tour guide was really great. Though scripted in most parts, the tour guides love for the school shined through (he was a international relations and history major who is playing esports). At one point on the tour we passed some guys talking and my son laughed out loud and said âas if we couldnât tellâ at the guy who said âIm in a business frat.â While there are bountiful âfinance brosâ as my son calls them, there seemed to be a diverse student body. He knows the alumni network is a huge bonus.
I think he is happy with his final choice of Syracuse but he still needs to process the finality of it all. This is real now. I have been given permission to help him release some of this schools.
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Ah, this brings back the memories of living in Minnesota.
Those tunnels are useful!
Congrats!!!
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Wow. Thanks for the insights.
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I did Amtrak in coach DC to San Francisco to Vancouver to DC one summer during undergrad, and I did approximately two circuits worth of the continent on Greyhound one summer for my dissertation fieldwork (which required me to travel to a lot of places to do several in-person interviews).
Greyhound was fine, and in fact a lot better than I expected. Amtrak was fine in coach, though my experiences later on in sleeper cars were, of course, much more comfortable. They both have some advantages over planes in some very meaningful ways, alongside their disadvantages.
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Woohoo! Iâve been very hopeful for him finding a great school and invested in his journeyâand yours. 
The programs at Syracuse sound really top notch.
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Oh no, we had a mini sleeping car, the size for two people. In my younger days I slept in coach.
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My D has been on that camp for a few weeks but should be pressing the button on Seattle U today or tomorrow.
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We are local and my daughter is committed to âCuse! (A&S and School of Ed). We did get to see the dorms (Sadler) on the Coronat visit. One of her classmates is committed to VPA. Reach out if you have any local questions! Congrats!!!
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My daughter made her final decision last night and she will be at Syracuse as well! We are SO excited! She will be doing an integrated learning major in forensic science and biology. Their Forensic & National Security Institute was a HUGE draw for her, and she received the leadership scholarship (half tuition). She turned down Lehigh, which was really tough, but we LOVE SU!
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My South Jersey family fly from Philly. I would rather go on Spirit than go to LaGuardia.
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So S23 just got accepted off the waitlist at UC Irvine. His heart is set on Berkeley now, so it doesnât change anything, but how strange. Why would there be movement on the waitlist now before commitment day?
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Davis started taking people off the waitlist as well two days ago. Iâm sure they have pretty advanced analytics to check on whether SIRs are coming in where they need to be.
I guess so. It just seems odd, what if students are just SIR-ing late???
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